Son Lux’s We Are Rising: How To Make An Album In 28 Days

June 28, 2011

Tonight at Public Assembly the Brooklyn musician Ryan Lott—d/b/a Son Lux—will perform in honor of the release of his new album We Are Rising. The album was created earlier this year as part of the RPM Challenge—it’s like National Novel-Writing Month for records, only a bit more challenging because a) unlike most novels, albums have the potential to be more collaborative; and b) National Novel-Writing Month is in the 30-day month of November, while the RPM Challenge shaves off two days from its deadline because its organizers decided to throw it in February. (Hey, the music business can be pretty cruel!) But the album—which boasts a wide cast of collaborators—doesn’t sound at all rushed into production; it’s teeming with ideas and instantly memorable melodies. (There are some diaries from his time spent under the gun on his Tumblr.) Below, two tracks: “Rising,” which morphs from a New Romantic chorale into a bass-heavy jam, with a skittering flute peppered throughout; and “All The Right Things,” which bobs and weaves as horns and layered vocals drop in and out of the proceedings.